Mother's Day:
At sunrise I weeded and trimmed my garden and
picked vegetables from my yard for dinner at my sister's house.
Then my children joined me to work on my friend Bill Broza's house.
Bill has suffered a series of setbacks:
a stroke that has him living
in San Diego with his girlfriend
while his house in Orange County seems to have
one disaster after another.
Two weeks back he discovered
he had dry wood termites in his
upstairs hardwood flooring.
Bill can't drive or deal with
meeting contractors, therefore
I came to the rescue.
The process of getting the tenting completed
unfolded into a big boondoggle.
The man from Western Termite didn't
seem to listen or care much about my time.
He was hours late both times.
Bill has more than sixty exotic plants
hanging on his stucco walls,
suspended from trellis material
and attached to the house. In addition,
orchids, epis and stephanotis vines
are planted on the foundation edges.
The termite guy said all the plants would die.
The chemicals is not what kills them,
it is the heat that the gas generates.
My son, daughter and I then proceeded
to dig out all the plants and
move them to plastic pots into the shade.
It took three days to uproot
the plants and remove all the food,
spices, wine and medicines from
his house.
My three car garage was filled with open boxes.
I would not have put the chemicals in my home.
I have read studies that orange oil isn't effective.
I have an organic house and garden, I don't have
a fix for this problem - only prevention - don't
mix wood with water.
This was his decision.
The tent came off Saturday.
On Sunday we spent a couple hours putting
plants back into their holes.
Mud and dead leaves everywhere-
And then...do add to the drama
Thanky you -
Santa Ana hot dry winds to further stress the plants...
We don't have the garden put back to normal.
I will go to the wholesale plant place in San Juan
and get a load of flowers to replace those who appear
desiccated.
I planned to go this morning early,
but the dry air makes me decide to wait.
No use buying new landscape material that is whipped
and dried by the weather.
For Mother's Day I brought my Mom big bouquets of
flowers, prepared dinner of organic vegetables
and acted as Mom to my old friend Bill.
UPDATE on the story- now 5/20 we have
replanted and I need to share some pics
Sweet peas are blooming in my yard .
Sage
Raised beds at the Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano
Peppers, tomatoes, in the left front are artichokes
